The write up for Psycho-geographical map
by Shengyu Liu (Bryan)
I made this map of Stuyvesant Square in 3D, simply because I think the process of making a 3D work is more interesting than that of making a 2D work, and the finished product would present viewers more direct and solid informations about the park. I am in the group of Smell sensation. Through the process of making my map, I was trying to use no pictograms to symbol the different feelings of smells, because I think pictograms may confuse viewers with other sensations. To cancel other sensations, I used some materials to show different kinds of smells in an abstract way.The differences between the materials I chose include: hardness, weight, texture, color and transparency. These features are used to present different feelings of the smells.
I chose cotton to simulate aromas from trees and flowers, because cotton is soft, and the smell of plants always give me an impression of soft and light. There are several colors of cotton I painted using watercolor to distinguish different areas of the plants. Like a part of the left side of Stuyvesant Square is orange because there are many animals that made me feel vivid, and the opposite part in the right side is blue because I felt calm sitting on the bench in that area. As for the sepia edges of certain places, those are used to present the burnt image of cigarette, and dirty image of garbage, homeless and rotten foods.
The next material I chose was clay. there are two kinds of clays on the map: the blue ones and the ochre ones. The blue ones were placed to present the mechanical and iron-like smells of statues and cars, while the ochre ones were used as the image of dirty, choking and messy smells produced by garbages, rotten foods, and the polluted gases produced by cars and sewage pits.
There are two kinds of wires also—the nylon ones and the iron ones. The nylon ones were used as the smart and vivid tracks of the smells from animals, and the iron ones were used as the heavy and dumb tracks of the smells from cars and busy pedestrians moving around the park. I was inspired by the differences between two kinds of guitars—the classical guitar, using nylon strings, produces organical and soft sound, while the acoustic guitar, using iron strings, produces mechanical and hard sound.
I actually prepared more materials for this project, but I reduced the kinds used on the map, because I think it might become too complicated too read. I did not add all the smells that my group recorded through the research process, because of the same reason.
